western

In the Market For Love

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I never intended to write the book.

The one that just released two weeks ago.

In the Market for Love is a story of redemption, hope, second chances, forgiveness, and listening to your heart. It’s just that the hero was originally the evil twin of the hero in my book Capturing Christmas.

Try as I might, I couldn’t think of Ransom Kressley in terms of hero material.

But my readers could.

In fact, over the years, you’ve requested his story more than any other.

After I received another flood of requests after Christmas for Ransom to please get a happily ever after, I surrendered to the inevitable and decided to try seeing him in a new light.

The result is In the Market for Love . It has laughter, love, heartache, and heartwarming moments, and I hope if you give it a chance, it will make you smile (and maybe sigh a little at the sweet ending).  You can even preview the first chapter here.

 

He’s never opened his heart to anyone. She wears her emotions on her sleeve. When romance blooms, will they realize love is what they both need?

Ransom Kressley possesses the gift of gab, striking good looks, and a blistering disdain for his family’s Idaho ranch where he resides with his father and identical twin brother. His genuine passion is football, but a knee injury shattered his dreams of an NFL career. After years of channeling his frustration and anger toward those who care about him most, Ransom resolves to change. He accepts a job in Portland as a promotions manager for an arena football team and eagerly steps into his new life. As he makes a fresh start, his past continues to plague him, interfering with his chance to get to know the woman who lingers in his thoughts.

Despite her sunny smile and tender spirit, Kelly Truman isn’t in the market for love or even a relationship when she agrees to have lunch with her best friend’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. Familiar only with Ransom Kressley’s notorious reputation, Kelly is determined to keep her guard up around him. However, Ransom proves to be nothing like she expected. Soon, she realizes she cherishes time spent with the man, but fears trusting him with her heart.

When their friendship evolves into something more, will Ransom’s charm and silver tongue split them apart or bind them together?

A sweet romance full of warmth and humor, In the Market for Love is a story of hope, forgiveness, and redemption.

In the story, Kelly’s favorite flowers are tulips. 

For a chance to win a mystery prize,

just share your favorite spring flower and why you like it. 

Bonus question: Do you like redemption stories?

Wigwam Motel & Bucket of Blood Saloon

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Visiting the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook this past summer was another item on my bucket list that I was able to cross off during our Route 66 travels along northern Arizona. I was really surprised the teepees looked exactly like what I’d seen in photographs.

There were once seven Wigwam Villages in the United States but today only three are open to the public—Cave Creek, Kentucky, Holbrook, Arizona, which is listed on the National Register of Historical Places, and Rialto, California.

The “village” concept for the motel was designed by Frank A. Redford and the first motel was opened in 1937. Chester Lewis, an Arizona motel owner, bought the rights to the wigwam design from Redford and built four more “villages”, including the one in Holbrook. Each teepee is 25 feet wide at the base and 28 feet high. Vintage automobiles decorate the parking lot and you won’t find an ice machine on the property or a telephone inside a teepee, but the rooms all have air conditioners and cable TV.

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The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook closed in 1982, and shortly after in 1986 Chester Lewis died. After restoring the Holbrook Motel, Chester’s widow and children reopened the rooms in 1988. The 15 teepees are spread out in a semi-circle around the main office, which operates a museum open to the public and includes Mr. Lewis’s Indian artifacts and Civil War memorabilia along with his petrified wood collection.

 

While my husband browsed through the museum I struck up a conversation with another tourist and the lady had asked me if I had seen the remains of the Bucket of Blood saloon across town. I hadn’t, and as luck would have it, my husband and I were on a tight schedule and didn’t have time that day to see the remains of the saloon. But I did wonder if any historical western romance authors had ever referenced the saloon or Holbrook, Arizona, in their stories.

 

 

I found the following images and history of Holbrook and the Bucket of Blood Saloon HERE.

In the mid-1880s, Holbrook was known as a place “too tough for women and churches.” At the time there was little law enforcement when several cow punchers from the Aztec Cattle Company moved into the area. They called themselves the Hashknife Outfit, and they rustled livestock from other cattle companies. They also played a major role in the Pleasant Valley Feud, one of the longest and bloodiest land and cattle feuds in the history of the United States.

In 1886 there were 26 shooting deaths in Holbrook, which at the time only had a population of around 250. Many of the shootings were attributed directly or indirectly to the Hashknife Outfit. The Bucket of Blood Saloon got its nickname after a gunfight between the Hashknife Outfit and a group of cowboys who accused them of stealing cattle. The gun battle ended in so much death that the floors were said to be slick with a “bucket of blood.”

Years later the street that runs in front of the old saloon in Holbrook was renamed from “Central” to “Bucket of Blood St”. The new name landed on several top ten lists citing the most unusual street names.

For fun…have you ever lived on a street with an unusual name?

 

Until Next Time…Happy Trails!

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Arizona Sightseeing…Come Visit Tortilla Flat

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Anyone who comes to visit us in Arizona gets to see Tortilla Flat–it’s one of our favorite places to see!

This past spring my daughter and her boyfriend flew to Phoenix for a short visit. The boyfriend grew up in a small town in Illinois (3,000 residents) and had never been to Arizona. We took the kids on a drive through the Tonto National Forest in the Superstition Mountain Range along the historic Apache Trail to a town called Tortilla Flat.

 

Tortilla Flat got its start as a stagecoach stop in 1904 and is the last surviving stop along the Apache Trail. Past fires and floods destroyed the buildings but residents have rebuilt each time. Tortilla Flat is thought to be Arizona’s smallest official “community” having a U.S. Post Office and voter’s precinct. The town has a population of 6.

 

There was no road to Tortilla Flat before 1904. The town became a freight camp during the construction of the Roosevelt Dam. Tortilla Flat, as well as the other camps along the road to the dam, sat on U.S. Forest Service land. After construction of the dam, the people who decided to make Tortilla Flat their permanent home had to lease the land from the U.S. government and continue to do so today. Roosevelt Dam has turned Tortilla Flat into a tourist attraction.

  

The drive to Tortilla Flat is a winding two-lane road of breathtaking scenic views of Canyon Lake and one-car bridges. You probably don’t want to be on this road at night.

 

When you reach Tortilla Flat you’ll be hungry, so stop in at the Superstition Saloon for good eats and their signature House Beers: Superstition Mule Oil and Snake Venom.

  

The saloon’s claim-to-fame, besides good food, are the dollars bills tourists stick to walls and the fun cowboy saddle stools at the bar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While you’re in town you can watch a gunfight or listen to a live band outside on the quaint patio with the backdrop of the mountains. And before you leave be sure to get your picture taken in a toilet seat.

If you’re ever in the Phoenix area I highly recommend taking this day trip!

 

 

 

GIVEAWAY!!

 

I’m offering a digital copy of a reader favorite that led to one of my best-selling series, Cowboys of the Rio Grande. The three delinquent teenagers in A Rodeo Man’s Promise eventually got their own books. (A Cowboy’s Redemption, The Surgeon’s Christmas Baby and A Cowboy’s Claim)

For a chance to win tell me where you take friends or family when they come to visit you. 

I will announce the winner of this drawing on Sunday November 12th in the comment section of this post!

 

Until Next Time…Happy Trails!

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Sin City, Cowboys and Cupcakes by Charlene Sands

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I set REDEEMING the CEO COWBOY primarily in Reno, Nevada because it’s an extension of The Slades of Sunset Ranch Series and my hero Casey Thomas, is the CEO of Sentinel Construction from the Lake Tahoe area.  Casey was born and raised in Reno and he’s come back to expand the business in his hometown.   Well, that’s only one of the reasons…Susanna Hart has a little to do with the other reasons.

Reno was known in earlier days as “Sin City”, gaining its name and reputation for underground gambling and prostitution.  After gold was discovered Virginia City, Charles Fuller decided to construct a bridge over the Truckee River charging a toll to cross, but the bridge wasn’t sturdy enough and his venture failed. Right before the Central Pacific Railroad came through the area, Myron Lake bought the bridge and land surrounding the area.  The sturdier bridge he had constructed soon became known as Lake’s Crossing.  In 1868 Lake’s Crossing was renamed Reno after Civil War hero, General Jesse Reno.reno arch

Reno became an important freight and passenger center. In 1928, the Reno City Council decided “Sin City” wouldn’t do, they needed a new slogan for their town and started a “motto” competition.  The winner received $100.00 and the new slogan and now famous arch that hovers over the main street in town reads: The Biggest Little City in the World!

 

Susanna Hart owns a home-based business, Sweet Susie’s Pastries and More in Reno, Nevada.   Here’s one of her  recipes!

Rocky Road Chocolate Muffins (credit to Cupcakes Made Simple)

rocky road chocolate muffin

6 TBSP sunflower oil OR 6 TSP butter, melted and cooled

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

2 ounces unsweetened cocoa

Pinch of salt

1 TBSP baking powder

½ Cup super fine sugar

½ Cup white chocolate chips

1 ¼ ounces white mini-marshmallows cut in half

2 eggs

I Cup of milk

Grease a 12 hole muffin pan.  Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Stir in sugar, white chocolate chips and marshmallows.

Beat eggs in large bowl, add milk and oil and beat gently.  Make a well with dry ingredients and add in beaten liquid ingredients.  Stir gently until just combined. Spoon batter into muffin pans.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Romantic Times Book Reviews: Sands continues the Slades of Sunset Ranch series with a heartfelt story, three-dimensional characters and a storyline that flows with relative ease. This is a SURE BET! Reviewed by: Susannah Balch

 

RTCCAMAZON  

REDEEMING THE CEO COWBOY is available for pre-order and in bookstores August 1st.

Ten years ago = ancient history…right?

So what if former rodeo champion turned construction mogul Casey Thomas is back…living right next door? Susanna Hart is busy running her Sweet Susie’s pastry business and raising her two-year-old cousin. Why pay any attention to the man who took her virginity ten years ago, then left town?

Casey still feels guilty for taking advantage of his little sister’s best friend. A helping hand is just what her business—and his conscience—need. But guilt isn’t his only motivation. Casey’s got a sweet tooth for Susie. And the more she resists, the sweeter it gets!

Do you have a favorite muffin or cupcake recipe?  How would you feel about your EX- moving in next door?  Have you ever been to Reno or Lake Tahoe? Impressions?  I’d love to hear from you!  

Post a comment to any or all of these questions and a random blogger will be drawn over the weekend to win a $10.00 Amazon or BN Gift Card!